Interactive media guide with media guidance interface

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for providing guidance to users for finding media are described. Such systems and methods may be provided in interactive media guides such as program guides, web browsers, or other suitable interactive media guides.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/829,806, filed Apr. 10, 2001 (pending); which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/195,946, filed Apr. 10, 2000(expired), and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60,202,306, filedMay 5, 2000 (expired), which are incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Video and audio media, such as television programs, pay-per-viewprograms, near-video-on-demand (NVOD) programs, video-on-demand (VOD)programs, music, promotional material, and other types of media, may bedistributed to viewers over wired and wireless networks. Suitable wiredand wireless networks may include, for example, broadcast televisionsystem networks, one-way and two-way cable television system networks,digital broadcasting services (DBS) and other satellite deliveryservices networks, the Internet, and other suitable types of networks.Near video-on-demand (NVOD) and video-on-demand (VOD) systems have beendeveloped that allow television viewers to watch programs nearly ondemand or on demand.

Viewers and listeners of such media typically record such media onvideocassettes, audiocassettes, and other storage media. More recently,products have been developed that allow users to manage their viewingexperiences and record media with increased flexibility. Personal videorecorders (PVRs), such as those provided by TIVO and REPLAY, recordprograms on hard-disk drives. Users can schedule programs for recordingand play them back at a later time. These systems also record what usersare watching in real-time, allowing users to pause real-time programswhen, for example, they must leave the room. Users may resume theirviewing upon returning, where they left off, and may even fast forwardthrough commercials until they reach the point at which the program iscurrently provided. Users may also rewind programs.

Recording capabilities of current technologies and the vast amount ofmedia offered through current media distribution systems such as cabletelevision systems, digital broadcasting services, the Internet, andother systems, provide users with an enormous amount of available mediaat any given point in time. When a user asks “what's on now”, the answercan be any one of a number of different types of media from differentsources. Improving the user interfaces of interactive media guides, suchas television program guides, guides for audio services, guides forpersonal video recorders (PVRS), or any other suitable interactive mediaguide, may increase the ease with which users navigate through storedand distributed media.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to interactive media guides and moreparticularly, to program guides that provide guidance for large amountsof media. Various features in accordance with some embodiments of thepresent invention are described, for example, in Walker, et. al.Interactive Television Program Guide Systems with Integrated ProgramListings, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/829,856, filed Apr. 10,2001, Thomas, et. al., U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/195,946,filed Apr. 10, 2000, and Tod A. Walker, U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/202,306, filed May 5, 2000 which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

The interactive media guide of the present invention may be used for anytype of distributed media (e.g., television programs, VOD programs, NVODprograms, PPV programs, audio programs, etc.), delivered to a user inany suitable way (e.g., via cable, satellite, radio-frequencytransmission, Internet, etc.), and for anything the user has recorded.The interactive media guide presents to the user “what's on now” in auser friendly way, by summarizing available distributed and stored mediawithout using information related to the title, source, or content ofthe media (e.g., the criteria for including media in a group may bearbitrary, user-defined, predefined, or any other suitable criteria). Insome embodiments, the interactive media guide of the present inventionmay include an interactive television program guide implemented usingany suitable architecture.

In some embodiments, users are provided with an interactive media guidefrom which they may access related media. In some embodiments, media maybe grouped independent of their title sources, or content, but relatedin other ways that allow users to more easily search for desired media.For example, suitable groups may be Recent Favorites, Old Favorites,Recommendations, Browsing, Special Interest, Categories, and PreviewScan. In some embodiments, groups may be further divided into sub-groupsof media.

Groups and sub-groups may be user-configurable, or may be programmedinto the interactive media guide. In some embodiments, groups andsub-groups may be dynamically selected by the interactive media guidebased on media that is available, thereby providing the user withdynamic guidance.

In some embodiments of the present invention, media may be grouped insource, title, or content related ways. Media listings may be providedwith the number of viewable selections (i.e., “hits”) for the source,categories, or other groups. If desired, a combination of approaches maybe used, in which the groupings that are not related to title, source,or content may contain sub-groups that are related to media, title, orcontent. Additionally, groups that are not related to title, source, orcontent may also contain hits for the number of viewable selectionsrelated to the groups.

Further features of the invention, its nature, and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an illustrative system inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2 a-2 e show illustrative arrangements for the interactivetelevision program guide equipment of FIG. 1 in accordance with variousembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an illustrative schematic block diagram of the user televisionequipment of FIGS. 2 a-2 e in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a generalized schematic block diagram of portions of theillustrative user television equipment of FIG. 3 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 a shows an illustrative display template of an interactive mediaguide in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 b shows an illustrative display of an interactive media guidedisplaying groups that indicate media without indicating the content,title, or source of the media in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 c shows an illustrative display of an interactive media guidedisplaying sub-groups in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 shows an illustrative display of an interactive media guidedisplaying groups that may indicate media by indicating the content,title, or source of the media in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 7 a shows an illustrative interface display of an interactive mediaguide displaying groups that indicate media without indicating thecontent, title, or source of the media in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 7 b shows an illustrative display of an interactive media guidedisplaying media titles in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 c shows an illustrative display of an interactive media guidedisplaying media titles in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 a shows an illustrative setup screen that allows a user toconfigure the groups displayed in an interactive media guide inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 b shows an illustrative setup screen that allows a user toconfigure the groups displayed in an interactive media guide inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 c shows an illustrative display screen for entering a searchquery in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 a is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in creating anddisplaying an interactive media guide in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 9 b is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in configuring aninteractive media guide according to a user's preferences in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 c is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in configuring aninteractive media guide according to a user's preferences in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The interactive media guide of the present invention may be based on anumber of different hardware platforms. Suitable hardware that may beused in implementing the program guide includes hardware such assatellite receivers, personal computer televisions (PC/TVS), personalcomputers (e.g., with television tuner cards), cable set-top boxes, orany other suitable hardware. In some embodiments, the interactive mediaguide may be an interactive television program guide. Illustrativeinteractive television program guide systems are described, for example,in Knee et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,892 and Knudson et al. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 09/357,941, filed Jul. 16, 1999, which are herebyincorporated by reference herein in their entireties. Client-serverprogram guide systems are described, for example, in Ellis et al. U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/374,043, filed Aug. 13, 1999, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. On-line programguide systems are described, for example, in Boyer et al. U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 08/938,028, filed Sep. 18, 1997, which is herebyincorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the interactive media guide may allow users torecord programs on digital or analog storage devices (e.g.,videocassettes, hard disks, floppy discs, flash memory, recordablecompact discs (CDS), recordable digital versatile discs (DVDs), or anyother type of storage). Interactive media guides having digital storageare described, for example, in Hassell et al. U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 09/157,256, filed Sep. 17, 1998, which is hereby incorporatedby reference herein in its entirety. Recording of media can also beperformed by a program guide or other server. Client-server basedprogram guides with remote server recording are described, for example,in Ellis et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,244, filed Jun.11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety. On-line program guides may also record programs or direct auser's equipment to record programs.

An illustrative system 100 in accordance with the principles of thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1. Main facility 120 provides programguide data from program guide data source 140 to interactive televisionprogram guide equipment 170 via communications link 180. There may bemultiple program guide data sources but only one has been shown to avoidover-complicating the drawing. If desired, program guide data sourcesmay be located at facilities separate from main facility 120, such as atlocal information services 150, and have their data provided to mainfacility 120 for localization and distribution. Program guide datasources 140 may be any suitable computer or computer based system forobtaining data (e.g., manually from an operator, electronically via acomputer network or other connection, or via storage media) andconverting the data into electronic form for distribution by mainfacility 120. Communications link 180 may be a satellite link, atelephone network link, a cable or fiber optic link, a microwave link,an Internet link, a combination of such links, or any other suitablecommunications link. Video signals may also be transmitted overcommunications link 180 if desired.

Local information service 150 may be any suitable facility for obtainingdata particular to a localized region and providing the data to mainfacility 120 over communications link 410. Local information services150 may be, for example, a local weather station that measures weatherdata, a local newspaper that obtains local high school and collegesporting information, or any other suitable provider of information.Local information services 150 may also be a local business with acomputer for providing main facility 120 with, for example, local skireports, fishing conditions, menus, etc., or any other suitable providerof information. Link 410 may be a satellite link, a telephone networklink, a cable or fiber optic link, a microwave link, an Internet link, acombination of such links, or any other suitable communications link.

The program guide data transmitted by main facility 120 to interactivetelevision program guide equipment 170 may include televisionprogramming data (e.g., program identifiers, times, channels, titles,program information, video-on-demand information, promotionalinformation and descriptions) and other data for services other thantelevision program listings (e.g., help text, pay-per-view information,weather information, sports information, music channel information,associated Internet web links, associated software, etc.). There arepreferably numerous pieces or installations of interactive televisionprogram guide equipment 170, although only one is shown in FIG. 1 toavoid over-complicating the drawing.

Program guide data may be transmitted by main facility 120 tointeractive television program guide equipment 170 using any suitableapproach. Data files may, for example, be encapsulated as objects andtransmitted using a suitable Internet based addressing scheme andprotocol stack (e.g., a stack which uses the user datagram protocol(UDP) and internet protocol (IP)). Systems in which program guide datais transmitted from a main facility to distribution facilities aredescribed, for example, in Gollahon et al. U.S. patent application Ser.No. 09/332,624, filed Jun. 11, 1999, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

An interactive television program guide is implemented on interactivetelevision program guide equipment 170. Five illustrative arrangementsfor interactive television program guide equipment 170 are shown inFIGS. 2 a-2 e. As shown, interactive television program guide equipment170 may include program guide distribution equipment 210 located atprogram guide distribution facility 160, and user television equipment220.

The interactive television program guide may be run completely on usertelevision equipment 220 using the arrangements of FIGS. 2 a and 2 c, ormay be run partially on user equipment 220 and partially on interactivetelevision program guide equipment 210 using a suitable client-server ordistributed processing arrangement such as those shown in FIGS. 2 b and2 d. Program guide distribution facility 160 may be any suitabledistribution facility (e.g., a cable system headend, a broadcastdistribution facility, or any other suitable type of distributionfacility, and may have distribution equipment 210).

Program guide distribution equipment 210 of FIGS. 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, and 2 dmay be equipment suitable for providing program guide data to usertelevision equipment 220 over communications path 200. In FIG. 2 e,program guide distribution equipment 210 may provide program guide datato Internet service system 235 via, for example, a suitable computernetwork or Internet link. Program guide distribution equipment 210 mayinclude, for example, suitable transmission hardware for distributingprogram guide data on a television channel sideband, in the verticalblanking interval of a television channel, using an in-band digitalsignal, using an out-of-band digital signal, or by any other suitabledata transmission technique. Analog or digital video signals (e.g.,television programs) may also be distributed by program guidedistribution equipment 210 to user television equipment 220 overcommunications paths 200 on multiple television channels. Alternatively,videos may be distributed to user television equipment 220 from someother suitable distribution facility, such as a cable system headend, abroadcast distribution facility, a satellite television distributionfacility, or any other suitable type of media distribution facility.

Communications path 200 may be any communications path suitable fordistributing program guide data. Communications path 200 may include,for example, a satellite link, a telephone network link, a cable orfiber optic link, a microwave link, an Internet link, a data-over-cableservice interface specification (DOCSIS) link, a combination of suchlinks, or any other suitable communications link. Communications paths200 preferably have sufficient bandwidth to allow program guidedistribution facility 160 or another distribution facility to distributetelevision programming to user television equipment 220. There aretypically multiple pieces of user television equipment 220 and multipleassociated communications paths 200, although only one piece of usertelevision equipment 220 and communications path 200 are shown in FIGS.2 a-2 d to avoid over-complicating the drawings. If desired, televisionprogramming, other media, and program guide data may be provided overseparate communications paths.

FIG. 2 b shows an illustrative arrangement for interactive televisionprogram guide equipment 170 in a client-server based or distributedinteractive media guide system. As shown in FIG. 2 b, program guidedistribution equipment 210 may include program guide server 250. Programguide server 250 may use any suitable combination of hardware andsoftware to provide a client-server based program guide. Program guideserver 250 may, for example, run a suitable database engine (e.g., SQLServer by Microsoft) and provide program guide data in response toqueries generated by a program guide client implemented on usertelevision equipment 220. If desired, program guide server 250 may belocated at main facility 120, or other locations, such as a cable systemheadend, a broadcast distribution facility, a satellite televisiondistribution facility, or any other suitable type of distributionfacility.

The program guide may retrieve program guide data from program guideserver 250 using any suitable client-server based approach. The programguide may, for example, pass SQL requests as messages to program guideserver 250. In another suitable approach, the program guide may invokeremote procedures that reside on program guide server 250 using one ormore remote procedure calls. Program guide server 250 may execute SQLstatements for such invoked remote procedures. In still another suitableapproach, client objects executed by the program guide may communicatewith server objects executed by program guide server 250 using, forexample, an object request broker (ORB). This may involve using, forexample, Microsoft's Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) approach,or the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA), Available fromthe Object Management Group.

The program guide implemented on interactive television program guideequipment 170 may communicate with program guide server 250 overcommunications path 200 using any suitable network and transport layerprotocols, if desired. They may communicate, for example, using aprotocol stack which includes Sequenced Packet Exchange/InternetworkPacket Exchange (SPX/IPX) layers, Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) layers, Appletalk Transaction Protocol/DatagramDelivery Protocol (ATP/DDP) layers, DOCSIS or any other suitable networkand transport layer protocols.

FIGS. 2 c and 2 d show illustrative Internet based interactivetelevision program guide systems. Program guide distribution facility160 may, for example, include Internet service system 610. Internetservice system 610 may use any suitable combination of hardware andsoftware capable of providing program guide data to the guide using anInternet based approach (e.g., the HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)).If desired, Internet service system 610 may be located at a facilitythat is separate from program guide distribution facility 160.

If the program guide is implemented on user television equipment 220 ofinteractive television program guide equipment 170 as shown in FIG. 2 c,Internet service system 610 (or other suitable equipment at programguide distribution facility 160 that is connected to Internet servicesystem 610) may provide program guide data to user television equipment220 via the Internet, or via program guide distribution equipment 210using any suitable Internet-based approach (e.g., using the HyperTextTransfer Protocol (HTTP) over a Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) type link). If the program guide implemented oninteractive television program guide equipment 170 is a client-serverguide as shown in FIG. 2 d, program guide server 250 may obtain programguide data from Internet service system 610. The program guide may also,however, obtain program guide data from Internet service system 610 viaan Internet connection.

In another suitable arrangement, program guide distribution equipment210 may include computer equipment or other suitable hardware on which afirst portion or version of the interactive television program guide isimplemented. A second portion or version of the program guide may beimplemented on user television equipment 220. The two versions orportions of the interactive media guide may communicate using anysuitable peer-to-peer communications scheme (e.g., messaging, remoteprocedure calls, etc.) and perform interactive media guide functionsdistributively between program guide distribution facility 160 and usertelevision equipment 220.

Another suitable arrangement in which an on-line program guide isimplemented on interactive television program guide television equipment170 is shown in FIG. 2 e. On-line program guide systems are described,for example, in Boyer et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.08/938,028, filed Sep. 18, 1997, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety. The user may have personal computer(PC) 231 on which a program guide client or web browser is implemented.Personal computer 231 may be connected to Internet service system 235via Internet link 230. Internet service system 230 may use any suitablecombination of computer hardware and software capable of providing anon-line program guide server application or web site. Internet servicesystem 235 is shown as obtaining program guide data from program guidedistribution facility 160. In other suitable approaches, Internetservice system 235 may obtain information from other systems such as,for example, main facility 120, local information services 1500, or anyother suitable source of program guide data.

An illustrative arrangement for user television equipment 220 is shownin FIG. 3. User television equipment 220 of FIG. 3 receives video or adigital video stream and data from program guide distribution facility160 (FIG. 1), or some other suitable distribution facility, at input260. During normal television viewing, a user tunes set-top box 280 to adesired television channel. The signal for that television channel isthen provided at video output 300. The signal supplied at output 300 istypically either a radio-frequency (RF) signal on a predefined channel(e.g., channel 3 or 4), or an analog demodulated video signal, but mayalso be a digital signal provided to television 360 on an appropriatedigital bus (e.g., a bus using the Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394 standard, (not shown)). The videosignal at video output 300 is received by optional secondary storagedevice 320.

The interactive television program guide may run on set-top box 280, ontelevision 360 (if television 360 has suitable processing circuitry andmemory), on a suitable analog or digital receiver connected totelevision 360, or on digital storage device 310 if digital storagedevice 310 has suitable processing circuitry and memory. The interactivetelevision program guide may also run cooperatively on a suitablecombination of these devices. Interactive television application systemsin which a cooperative interactive television program guide applicationruns on multiple devices are described, for example, in Ellis U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/186,598, filed Nov. 5, 1998, which ishereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Secondary storage device 320 can be any suitable type of analog ordigital program storage device or player (e.g., a videocassetterecorder, a digital versatile disc recorder (DVD) recorder, etc.).Program recording and other features may be controlled by set-top box280 using control path 340. If secondary storage device 320 is avideocassette recorder, for example, a typical control path 340 involvesthe use of an infrared transmitter coupled to the infrared receiver inthe videocassette recorder that normally accepts commands from a remotecontrol such as remote control 400. Remote control 400 may be used tocontrol set-top box 280, secondary storage device 320, and television360.

If desired, a user may record programs, program guide data, or acombination thereof in digital form on optional digital storage device310. Digital storage device 310 may be a writeable optical storagedevice (such as a DVD recorder capable of handling recordable DVDdiscs), a magnetic storage device (such as a disk drive or a digitaltape drive), or any other digital storage device. Interactive televisionprogram guide systems that have digital storage devices are described,for example, in Hassell et al. U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/157,256, filed Sep. 17, 1998, which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

Digital storage device 310 can be contained in set-top box 280 or it canbe an external device connected to set-top box 280 via an output portand appropriate interface. If necessary, processing circuitry in set-topbox 280 formats the received video, audio and data signals into adigital file format. Preferably, the file format is an open file formatsuch as the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) MPEG-2 standard or theMoving Joint Photographic Experts Group (MJPEG) standard. The resultingdata is streamed to digital storage device 310 via an appropriate bus(e.g., a bus using the Institute Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 1394 standard), and is stored on digital storage device 310. Inanother suitable approach, an MPEG-2 data stream or series of files maybe received from program guide distribution equipment 210 and stored.

Television 360 receives video signals from secondary storage device 320via communications path 380. The video signals on communications path380 may either be generated by secondary storage device 320 when playingback a prerecorded storage medium (e.g., a videocassette or a recordabledigital video disc), by digital storage device 310 when playing back apre-recorded digital medium, may be passed through from set-top box 280,may be provided directly to television 360 from set-top box 280 ifsecondary storage device 320 is not included in user televisionequipment 220, or may be received directly by television 360. Duringnormal television viewing, the video signals provided to television 360correspond to the desired channel to which a user has tuned with set-topbox 280. Video signals may also be provided to television 360 by set-topbox 280 when set-top box 280 is used to play back information stored ondigital storage device 310.

Set-top box 280 may have memory 440. Memory 440 may be any memory orother storage device, such as a random access memory (RAM), read onlymemory (ROM), flash memory, a hard disk drive, a combination of suchdevices, etc., that is suitable for storing program guide applicationinstructions and program guide data for use by the program guide.

Set-top box 280 may have communications device 370 for communicatingdirectly with program guide distribution equipment 210, program guideserver 250 or Internet service system 610 over communications path 200.Communications device 370 may be a modem (e.g., any suitable analog ordigital standard, cellular, or cable modem), network interface card(e.g., an Ethernet card, Token ring card, etc.), or other suitablecommunications device.

Communications device 370 may also be a personal computer with anInternet connection in, for example, the arrangement shown in FIGS. 2 cand 2 d. Television 360 may also have such a suitable communicationsdevice if desired. In an alternative approach, user television equipment220 may communicate with Internet service system 610 via distributionequipment 210 using a suitable return path.

A more generalized embodiment of user television equipment 220 of FIG. 3is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, program guide data from programguide distribution facility 160 (FIG. 1) is received by controlcircuitry 420 of user television equipment 220. The functions of controlcircuitry 420 may be provided using the set-top box arrangement of FIGS.2 a and 2 b. Alternatively, these functions may be integrated into anadvanced television receiver, personal computer television (PC/TV), orany other suitable arrangement. If desired, a combination of sucharrangements may be used.

User television equipment 220 may also have secondary storage device 470and digital storage device 490 for recording programming. Secondarystorage device 470 can be any suitable type of analog or digital programstorage device (e.g., a videocassette recorder, a digital versatile discrecorder (DVD), etc.). Program recording and other features may becontrolled by control circuitry 420. Digital storage device 490 may be,for example, a writeable optical storage device (such as a DVD recordercapable of handling recordable DVD discs), a magnetic storage device(such as a disk drive or a digital tape drive), or any other digitalstorage device.

User television equipment 220 may also have memory 630. Memory 630 maybe any memory or other storage device, such as a random access memory(RAM), read only memory (ROM), flash memory, a hard disk drive, acombination of such devices, etc., that is suitable for storing programguide application instructions and program guide data for use by controlcircuitry 420.

User television equipment 220 of FIG. 4 may also have communicationsdevice 511 for supporting communications between the program guide anddistribution equipment 210, program guide server 250, or Internetservice system 610 via communications path 200. Communications device511 may be a modem (e.g., any suitable analog or digital standard,cellular, or cable modem), network interface card (e.g., an Ethernetcard, Token ring card, etc.), or other suitable communications device(e.g., a modulator, a remodulator, or media may be transmitting withinthe vertical blanking interval (VBI) of an analog channel or within adata track or a digital channel.

A user may control the operation of user television equipment 220 withuser input device 460. User input device 460 may be a pointing device,wireless remote control, keyboard, touch-pad, voice recognition system,or any other suitable user input device. To access media, a userinstructs processing circuitry 420 to display a desired televisionchannel or other media source on display device 450. In anotherembodiment, it may also output audio data on audio output device 451.Display device 450 may be any suitable television, monitor, or othersuitable display device. Audio output device may be any suitable mediaspeaker, or other suitable audio output device. To access the functionsof the program guide, a user instructs the program guide implemented oninteractive television program guide equipment 170 to generate a mainmenu or other desired program guide display screen for display ondisplay device 450.

FIG. 5 a depicts an illustrative display template 500 of an interactivemedia guide according to an embodiment of the present invention. Displaytemplate 500 includes groups 502, 504, 506, 508. In some embodiments,the groups may be designed to indicate media that the user may beinterested in, without indicating the content (e.g., the criteria forincluding media in a group may be arbitrary, user-defined, predefined,or any other suitable criteria), titles, or source of the media. One ormore of the groups shown in FIG. 5 a may be deleted if desired or othergroups may be added if desired. Moreover, the groups may be userconfigurable, or may be pre-defined.

FIG. 5 b depicts an illustrative arrangement of the groups of FIG. 5 a.The menu screen of FIG. 5 b provides the user with opportunities to view“what's on now” for media within one or more groups. In the embodimentin FIG. 5 b, the groups are configured to relate to Recent Favorites512, Old Favorites 514, Recommendations 516, Browsing 518, SpecialInterest 520, Categories 522, and Preview Scan 524. These groups aremeant only to be illustrative. Other types of groups may be provided.

In response to a user selecting Recent Favorites 512, the interactivemedia guide may indicate to the user media available on demand that meetcriteria that meet favorites parameters set up by the user, media withcharacteristics similar to the characteristics of recently reviewed orrecorded media, or any suitable combination thereof. The interactivemedia guide may also provide a list of media that a user may select,which, upon selecting, the user may be given the opportunity to view themedia, buy the media, set a reminder to view the media, or addattributes of the media to a user profile, or perform any suitableaction with respect to the media. Recent favorites 512 may also indicateany recently recorded media, recently recorded media that meets userfavorites parameters, or any suitable combination thereof. The recentlyrecorded media may have been recorded by the user's home equipment or bya server remote to the user's home. Any suitable combination of theseapproaches may also be used.

In response to a user selecting Old Favorites 514 from the main menu,the interactive media guide may indicate to the user previously recordedmedia that meets user favorites, media that have characteristics similarto recently reviewed or recorded media, video on demand, or any suitablecombination thereof. The interactive media guide may also provide a listof media that a user may select, which, upon selecting, the user may begiven the opportunity to view the media, buy the media, set a reminderto view the media, or add attributes of the media to a user profile, orperform any suitable action with respect to the media. Previouslyrecorded media may have been recorded in accordance with the user'sdesires (i.e., in response to the user indicating a desire that the userwants particular media or media with certain characteristics recorded).The media may be recorded on the user's home equipment or on a serverremote to the user's home. In another suitable approach, a server mayrecord media automatically and provide old favorites available to theuser for the user's review via the interactive media guide. Any suitablecombination of these approaches may also be used.

In response to the user selecting Recommendations 516 from the main menu510, the interactive media guide may indicate to the user recommendedavailable media, previously recorded media, media on demand, or anysuitable combination. The media may be currently distributed orpreviously recorded. The interactive media guide may also provide a listof media that a user may select, which, upon selecting, the user may begiven the opportunity to view the media, buy the media, set a reminderto view the media, or add attributes of the media to a user profile, orperform any suitable action with respect to the media. A recommendedmedia 516 may be recommended to the user using any suitable approach.Programs may be recommended based on, for example, user preferences orfavorites. Programs may also be editorially recommended. The interactivemedia guide provider may, for example, provide reviews orrecommendations from personnel at the service provider. Recommendationsmay also be promotional or informational (e.g., sponsoredadvertisements, infomercials, etc.).

In response to a user selecting Browsing 518 from the main menu, theinteractive media guide may provide the user with an opportunity tobrowse listings for media that is currently available. The media may becurrently distributed media, or media that has been prerecorded and isavailable to users on demand from their in-home equipment or a remoteserver (e.g., guide server, Internet, server, etc.). The interactivemedia guide may also provide a list of media that a user may select,which, upon selecting, the user may be given the opportunity to view themedia, buy the media, set a reminder to view the media, or addattributes of the media to a user profile, or perform any suitableaction with respect to the media.

Listings may be browsed using any suitable approach. Listings may, forexample, be organized by time, channel, genre, or any other suitableparameter. If desired, the interactive media guide may provide userswith an opportunity to specify the characteristics for which listingsare presented. If desired, one or more listing may be presented with afull or partial screen video of the currently selected (e.g.,highlighted) listing. If desired, the video may be displayed along withmedia the user is currently viewing. The video may be, for example, ofthe portion of the media currently available (i.e., the point at whichit is currently distributed), a predefined portion of the media (e.g.,the first twenty seconds), or a trailer or other clip that is suppliedto the interactive media guide. For audio media, a graphic associatedwith the audio may be displayed while an audio clip for the audio isplayed if desired.

In response to the user selecting Special Interest 520 from the mainmenu, the interactive media guide may provide the user with anopportunity to review listings for media that are of special interest tothe user. Media may be determined to be special interest media using anysuitable approach. The interactive media guide may also provide a listof media that a user may select, which, upon selecting, the user may begiven the opportunity to view the media, buy the media, set a reminderto view the media, or add attributes of the media to a user profile, orperform any suitable action with respect to the media. The interactivemedia guide may, for example, allow the user to select or define specialinterest categories. In another approach, the interactive media guideprovider or the application may select special interest categories. Theinteractive media guide provider may, for example, decide to featureparticular types of media in a given month. Any other suitable approachmay also be used.

In response to the user selecting Categories 522 from the main menu, theinteractive media guide may provide the user with an opportunity toselect one or more categories of media for which the user wishes toaccess media listings. The interactive media guide may also provide alist of media that a user may select, which, upon selecting, the usermay be given the opportunity to view the media, buy the media, set areminder to view the media, or add attributes of the media to a userprofile, or perform any suitable action with respect to the media. Thecategories may be user selected (e.g., from a setup screen), userdefined, system selected, or defined or selected using any othersuitable approach. In response to, for example, the user selecting agroup from categories presented by the interactive media guide, theinteractive media guide may provide the user with media listings forcurrently distributed or recorded media in the selected group orcategories.

In response to the user selecting Preview Scan 524, the interactivemedia guide may provide the user with an opportunity to scan previews ofcurrently available media. The interactive media guide may also providea list of media that a user may select, which, upon selecting, the usermay be given the opportunity to view the media, buy the media, set areminder to view the media, or add attributes of the media to a userprofile, or perform any suitable action with respect to the media.Currently available media may include any media currently distributed tothe user's equipment, or media previously recorded by the user'sequipment or stored on a server remote to the user's home. Previews forthe media may include video or audio clips associated with the media.

The video and audio clips may be provided to the interactive media guideusing any suitable approach. Clips may be provided along with the mediaas, for example, digital files within the vertical blanking interval(VBI) of an analog channel or within a data track on a digital channel.Clips may be provided separately from the media to an interactive mediaguide running at least partially on the user's home equipment, using anysuitable approach. Clips may be, for example, provided to theapplication on demand from a media source. Clips may be provided as, forexample, part of data supplied to the interactive media guide, using acontinuous stream, periodic download, periodic polling, or any othersuitable approach. Previews may also be the current portion of currentlydistributed media, or a predefined portion of media, if desired. Thepreview clips may be presented to the user using any suitable approach.The interactive media guide may, for example, provide the user with anopportunity to select previews from media listings. In another suitableapproach, previews may be provided using a passive scan. The interactivemedia guide may cycle through previews until the user indicates a desireto access media or exit the scan. The interactive media guide mayprovide users with opportunities to skip a preview and access asubsequent preview, if desired.

Once a user selects a particular group (e.g., 512, 514, 516, 518, 520,522, 524), the user may also be presented with a plurality ofsub-groups. FIG. 5 c depicts an interactive media guide in whichcategory group 522 is expanded to display sub-groups sports 526, popularshows 528, premieres 530, and games 532. In parentheses after eachsub-group, the interactive media guide of FIG. 5 c indicates how manymedia titles are available for the given sub-group. For example, thereare five sports media titles available in the sports sub-group 526.

FIG. 6 depicts an illustrative What's On screen 600 that the interactivemedia guide may provide to the user to indicate currently availablemedia with minimal information. The What's On screen of FIG. 6 may beused as a main menu screen, or in conjunction with a main menu screensuch as the main menu screen of FIG. 5 b. For example, in response to auser selecting a menu selection from the menu of FIG. 5 b, theinteractive media guide may present the What's On screen of FIG. 6 toindicate the number of media listings of media or available previews, inaccordance with the selected menu selection.

The What's On screen 600 of FIG. 6 indicates to the user the number ofavailable media selections for any suitable types and groupings ofmedia, as indicated in parenthesis. In the example of FIG. 6, threegroups of available media selections indicated: Source 602, Category609, and Ratings 620. Source may indicate available media by source,such as available live media (e.g., programs) 604, media recorded by theuser 606, on-demand programs (e.g., video-on-demand or audio-on-demand)608, or any other suitable source type. Category 609 may indicateavailable media for any suitable category such as, for example, sports612, popular shows 614, premieres 616, or games 618. Ratings 620 mayindicate available media of different editorial ratings, such asfive-star 622, four-star 624, three-star 626, two-star 628, or one-starmedia 630.

Groups and sub-groups may be included in screens using any suitableapproach. Groups and sub-groups may be user-configurable. Groups andsub-groups may be programmed into the interactive media guide. In stillanother suitable approach, groups and sub-groups (and the menuselections of FIG. 5 b if desired) may be dynamically selected by theinteractive media guide based on what is available, thereby providingthe user with dynamic guidance.

FIG. 7 a shows another illustrative display arrangement for displayinggroups that indicate media without indicating the title, content (e.g.,the criteria for including media in a group may be arbitrary,user-defined, predefined, or any other suitable combination), or sourceof the media. Screen 700 may be displayed when a user first invokes theprogram guide and may be generated in any suitable manner. For example,screen 700 may be generated by the program guide from data downloadedfrom a remote site by any suitable means. Screen 700 may also bedownloaded as an HTML document from a remote web server and displayed asa web page. Screen 700 may contain text, graphics, animations, video,any other suitable content, or any suitable combination thereof.

Screen 700 may contain picture-in-guide window 710 that contains mediacontent 711 for the media currently being viewed (e.g., it may displaymedia for the program on the channel to which the set-top box iscurrently tuned), media to be viewed in the future (e.g., a trailer forVOD media), or any other suitable media. Screen 700 may includeinteractive or passive advertisement window 720, which may displayadvertisement 721. Advertisement 720 may be any suitable passive orinteractive graphic, text, video, or other advertisement for a program,product, or service. For example, a title or advertisement of a moviecurrently playing may be an advertisement. As another example, a thirdparty may provide an interactive advertisement of a particular productIf a user desires additional information regarding the product, the usermay indicate this desire by clicking or selecting the advertisement 720.Thereafter, the user may be provided with additional informationregarding the advertised product. This additional information may be inany suitable form; it may be provided as a static or interactiveadvertisement, or, for example may be a web page associated with theadvertised product. The menu 730 may be any of the aforementionedinteractive media guides; for example, it may be any of the media guidesshown in FIG. 5 a-6.

In response to a user selecting a group or sub-group, the interactivemedia guide may provide the user with media listings in accordance withthe user's selection. Media listings may be provided by time, bychannel, or using any other suitable approach. For example, FIG. 7 bdepicts another embodiment of menu 730 of FIG. 7 a. FIG. 7 b depictsmedia selections 742, 744, and 746 that are available in the premierssub-group. In another embodiment, in response to a user selecting agroup or sub-group, menu 750 of FIG. 7 c may be displayed. Menu 750 maycontain picture-in-guide window 760 that contains media content 761 forthe media currently being viewed (e.g., it may display media for theprogram on the channel to which the set-top box is currently tuned), apreview of the media that the user has selected, or any other suitablemedia. For example, if the user has selected media listing 754, atrailer or advertisement may be displayed for that media listing inpicture-in-guide window 760. Menu 750 may also indicate interactive orpassive advertisements 763 in advertisement window 762. Menu 750 mayalso display the selected group or sub-group 752, and the media listingsassociated with that group or sub-group, 754, 756, and 758. Medialistings 754, 756, and 758 may be provided from a variety of sources.For example, media listing 754 may be a broadcast media listing. Medialisting 756 may be a locally stored media listing, and media listing 758may be a video on demand media listing. Upon selecting the desired medialisting, the user may be given the opportunity to view the media, buythe media, set a reminder to view the media, or add attributes of themedia to a user profile, or perform any suitable actions with respect tothe media. For example, the menu 750 may be replaced with a full screendisplay of the selected media.

In some embodiments, a user may personalize the groups according to theuser's tastes. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways. A user maybe provided with a plurality of groups to choose from, and may be giventhe opportunity to determine which sub-groups, if any, should bedisplayed under the selected groups. For example, FIG. 8 a depicts asetup screen that may allow a user to configure the groups according tothe user's personal tastes. Setup display 800 may contain groups 810. Auser may select which groups the user would like to have displayed by,for example, selecting the appropriate check box from check boxes 815.The user may also select one or more sub-groups 820 which should bedisplayed under the selected group by, for example, checking theappropriate check box from the check box grid 825 under the appropriatesub-group. The sub-groups 820 may be predefined, or the user may begiven the opportunity to enter text into the category subgroups fields820 to be displayed.

In some embodiments, users may be given the opportunity to dynamicallycreate the media guide menu screen. In FIG. 8 b, a user may be given theopportunity to enter one or more searches 830 defined by the user andsaved by the interactive media guide. The user may also select one ormore groups 850 under which the results of the selected searches may bedisplayed. Upon indicating a desire to enter a search by selecting anappropriate check box 835, a user may be given an opportunity to namethe search string (e.g., “Rich's Favorites”). The user may also be giventhe opportunity to enter a search string. The search string may be aboolean search string, natural language search string or any othersuitable search string. FIG. 8 c illustrates an example display 855 thatmay be presented to the user, when the user indicates a desire to entera search string. The user may enter a search string in query box 858. Tofurther refine the search, the user may select one or more searchcriteria 860 to apply the search to. These criteria may include, forexample, program time, the program subject, or key word search.Thereafter, upon entering the menu screen, the guide will perform thesearch entered by the user, and will display only those user-definedgroups 850 that contain programs that meet the search criteria. A usermay also be given the opportunity to determine when the search should beperformed, by selecting the appropriate check box from search criteriafield 870. For example, a user may select to have the search executedimmediately, at a scheduled time (e.g., at 9:00 am, or every hour), orat the occurrence of a specified event (e.g., whenever a group orsub-group is selected, the ending of a specified program, or any othersuitable event).

FIG. 9 a is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in creating anddisplaying an interactive media guide according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. In step 900, indicators are provided in the main menuby providing indicators of groups of media that are available to theuser are provided. The groups may, for example, indicate media withoutindicating the title, source or content (e.g., the criteria forincluding media in a group may be arbitrary, user-defined, pre-defined,or any other suitable criteria) of media. Illustrative groups include,for example, recent favorites, old favorites, recommendations, browsing,special interest, categories, preview scan, or any other suitablecategory. In step 902, the user indication of a desired media group maybe received by, for example, interactive television program guideequipment 170 of FIG. 1 (e.g., groups 512, 514, 516, 518, 520, 522, or524 of FIG. 5 b). The user may then be provided with an indication ofavailable media, in step 908. In one embodiment (not shown), the usermay be provided with an indication of available media listings displayedby time, and, in the same list, media that includes media that arescheduled by time media that are available but are without a scheduledtime. In another embodiment, the user may be provided with indicators ofavailable sub-groups, in step 904 (e.g., sub-groups 526, 528, 530, 532of FIG. 5 c). The user indication of a desired media sub-group may bereceived in step 906. In step 908, the user may then be provided withindicators of available media.

Upon being presented with indicators of available media, the userindication of desired media may be received in step 910. In response tothis indication, a user may be given the opportunity to perform asuitable action on the media, in step 912. The user may be given theopportunity to view the media, buy the media, set a reminder to view themedia, or add attributes of the media to a user profile, or perform anysuitable actions with respect to the media. In one example, the currentdisplayed screen may be replaced with a full-screen display of theselected media or content.

FIG. 9 b is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in configuring amenu screen according to a user's preferences. In step 914, the user maybe provided with indicators of available groups of media (e.g., the usermay be presented with the media groups 810 of FIG. 8 a). In step 916,the user may be provided with indicators of sub-groups, e.g., thesub-groups 820 of FIG. 8 a. These sub-groups may be predefined, or theuser may be given an opportunity to enter the user's own sub-groups. Instep 918, the user indication of groups to be displayed for inclusion inthe main menu may be received by, for example, interactive televisionguide equipment 170 of FIG. 1 (e.g., by selecting one or more checkboxes from check boxes 815 of FIG. 8 a). In step 920, the userindication of sub-groups to be displayed under the selected groups maybe received (e.g., by selecting the appropriate check boxes from checkbox grid 825). In step 922, it may be determined how many media titlesare available that are associated with the selected groups andsub-groups. In step 924, the user-defined menu screen may be displayed,including the indicated group, sub-groups, and the number of availablemedia titles associated with those groups and sub-groups.

FIG. 9 c is a flowchart of illustrative steps involved in configuring amenu screen according to a user's preferences. In step 926, the user maybe provided with indicators of available user-defined search queries(e.g., the search queries 830 of FIG. 8 b). In step 928, the user may beprovided with indicators of available groups, e.g., the groups 850 ofFIG. 8 b. In step 930, the user's indication to enter a query may bereceived by, for example, interactive television guide equipment 170 ofFIG. 1 (e.g., by selecting one or more check boxes from check boxes 835of FIG. 8 b). Queries may be scheduled to run periodically (e.g., everyhour), upon the occurrence of an event (e.g., if a program ends) or ondemand. Upon indicating a desire to enter a query, the user may be giventhe opportunity to name the search query (e.g., “sports”, or “Rich'sFavorites”), and to enter a search string that will be associated withthe named search query is step 932 (e.g., FIG. 8 c).

In step 934, the user's indication of which groups the results of thequeries should be displayed in may be received (e.g., by selecting theappropriate check boxes from check grid 845). If the user does notindicate any groups, than the search query may be displayed as anindividual group. In step 836, the user-defined menu screen may bedisplayed, indicating the groups, sub-groups, and the results of thesearch query (i.e., the number of media titles that matched the searchquery).

Thus, systems and methods for providing guidance to users for findingmedia provided by different media sources is provided. One skilled inthe art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced byother than the described embodiments, which are presented forillustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limitedonly by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for presenting media provided by aplurality of media sources, the method comprising: providing one or moremedia group options, wherein the media group options indicate mediaavailable to the user without indicating any of the content, title, orsource of the media; providing a plurality of media indicatorsassociated with a selected media group option, wherein: the plurality ofmedia indicators identify media provided by at least one of the mediasources, and the plurality of media indicators includes a first mediaindicator for media available at a scheduled time and a second mediaindicator for media available without a scheduled time; and in responseto receiving a selection of a media indicator from the plurality ofmedia indicators, performing an action associated with the selectedmedia indicator.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the one ormore media group options further comprises indicating the number ofpresently available media that are associated with a media group option.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more media group optionsare defined by a user.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprisingproviding a media sub-group option associated with a media group option,wherein at least one of the plurality of media indicators is associatedwith the media sub-group option.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising indicating the number of media indicators that are associatedwith the media sub-group option.
 6. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving a selection of a media group option from a user. 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the selection of a media indicator isreceived from a user.
 8. A system for presenting media provided by aplurality of media sources, the system comprising: means for providingone or more media group options, wherein the media group optionsindicate media available to the user without indicating any of thecontent, title, or source of the media; means for providing a pluralityof media indicators associated with a selected media group option,wherein: the plurality of media indicators identify media provided by atleast one of the media sources, and the plurality of media indicatorsincludes a first media indicator for media available at a scheduled timeand a second media indicator for media available without a scheduledtime; and means for performing, in response to receiving a selection ofa media indicator from the plurality of media indicators, an actionassociated with the selected media indicator.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the means for providing the one or more media group optionsfurther comprises means for indicating the number of presently availablemedia that are associated with a media group option.
 10. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the one or more media group options are defined by auser.
 11. The system of claim 8, further comprising means for providinga media sub-group option associated with a media group option, whereinat least one of the plurality of media indicators is associated with themedia sub-group option.
 12. The system of claim 11, further comprisingmeans for indicating the number of media indicators that are associatedwith the media sub-group option.
 13. The system of claim 8, furthercomprising means for receiving the selection of a media group optionfrom a user.
 14. The system of claim 8, further comprising means forreceiving the selection of a media indicator from a user.